Paint Pots and Queens
Paint Pots and Queens, retitled Thomas Meets the Queen in American releases, is the twenty-third episode of the fourth season and the one hundred and first episode of the series. It aired in the US on the Shining Time Station episode Queen for a Day in 1995. In this episode, Henry upsets a painter, while Thomas and Gordon try to behave for Queen Elizabeth II's visit. Plot Thomas and Gordon are puffing together back home after the events of Off the Rails and Down the Mine. They arrive back at the sheds to discover decorations are being put up. Thomas wonders what's happening, and The Fat Controller tells the engines that the Queen was coming to visit Sodor. The engines then wonder who would pull the Royal Train. Edward says he's too old, and Gordon is still in Disgrace. James thinks he'll be chosen, but Henry disagrees and brags that he'll pull the Royal Train and will have a new coat of paint. One rainy day, Henry's driver and fireman cover the cab to keep dry at Knapford. A painter was on the ladder above the line, and when Henry's steam blows high into the air, the painter loses sight, and then he and his paint pot fall onto Henry, with the paint pot falling onto Henry's dome. The painter replies that Henry's not a pretty picture, and the Fat Controller declares that it won't do for the Royal Train, and that he must make other arrangements. Thomas and Gordon are waiting for the Fat Controller, who can see that both engines are sorry and deserve a treat. He tells the two engines that Thomas will look after the coaches, Edward will go in front to clear the line, and Gordon will pull the Royal Train. The great day comes, and the engines are busy gathering people from all over the island for the special occasion, and Edward soon steams in and tells everyone that the queen has arrives. Gordon then pulls into the station with the queen's train. The Fat Controller stands to attention and welcomes the queen. She thanks him for a splendid ride and asks to see the engines. Percy and Toby then whistle and cheer for the queen, and when it's time to leave, the Queen speaks especially to Thomas, Edward, and finally Gordon, who takes her home and no engines ever felt prouder than those on the Fat Controller's railway. Characters *Thomas *Edward *Henry *Gordon *James *Percy *Toby *Sir Topham Hatt *Queen Elizabeth II (does not speak) *Duck (cameo) *Donald (cameo) *Henrietta (cameo) *Jeremiah Jobling (cameo) Locations *Tidmouth Sheds *Knapford *Shunting Yards *The Lighthouse *Vicarstown Sheds (stock footage) *The Lead Mines (stock footage) *Wellsworth (deleted scene) Notes *This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Gordon the Big Engine. *Stock footage from Off the Rails, Down the Mine, and Thomas and Stepney is used. *This is the first and only episode of the television series where a historical figure appears. *As the narrator says, "When it was time to leave," "God Save the Queen" can be heard in the background. *On PBS Kids Sprout airings, this episode has given the UK title. *The Norwegian title for this episode is "Paint Spills and the Queen". In Italy it is "Here Comes the Queen". In Japan this episode is called "Queen is Coming to Sodor". The Spanish title for this episode is "A Paint Pot for the Queen". *This is the final episode that was based on a story from The Railway Series written by Wilbert Awdry. *This episode, along with Special Attraction, are the last episodes to be featured on Shining Time Station. *This episode is a continuation from in the first season episode, Down the Mine. *The events of this episode were later mentioned by Gordon in Emily Saves the World. Errors *The narrator said that Thomas and Gordon whistled into the shed, but only Thomas' whistle was heard. *At the end of Down the Mine, the cable that Gordon used to pull Thomas out of the mine was taken off by the workmen. However, at the beginning of this episode, Gordon still has the mechanism on his front. In addition, Gordon's brakepipe is facing downward, while it was facing upward in Down the Mine. *When Thomas rolls his eyes, his face moves a little. *Thomas mysteriously vanishes after the Fat Controller leaves and when Gordon says, "I'm in disgrace". *Henry's smoke was coming from his cab, and not his funnel. *Gordon and Duck have the same whistle sound. *Sir Topham Hatt wanted Thomas and Gordon to speak to him one at a time, but he only lets Gordon speak. *George Carlin makes Gordon say "May Thomas have his Branch Line again?" in his Sir Topham Hatt voice. *In a rare picture, one of Gordon's buffers was crooked when he speaks to the Fat Controller. *At the end of the episode, a crowd of people can be seen at Knapford, but in the close-ups of James and Henry, the people disappear and then reappear. *When the engines whistle, Donald and Douglas' whistles can be heard but they're nowhere to be seen. This is because the audio of the engines whistling is from The Deputation. *It's suggested that the events of this story take place shortly after the events of Down the Mine, as was the case with the Railway Series story. However, Duck and Donald make appearances, who didn't arrive on Sodor until quite some time after the events of Down the Mine. *When Gordon comes to a halt in Knapford, Edward's eyes are wonky. *In the scene showing the paint pot on Henry's dome, it was too small compared to how much paint fell on Henry's dome. *In the close up shots of Toby and Percy at Knapford, the buffers on Toby's line are wonky. Gallery PaintPotsandQueenstitlecard.png|UK title card ThomasMeetstheQueenUStitlecard.png|Original 1997 US title card ThomasMeetstheQueentitlecard.jpg|2001 US title card PaintPotsandQueensSpanishTitleCard.jpg|Spanish Title Card PaintpotsandQueensPortugueseTitleCard.png|Brazilian Portuguese Title Card PaintPotsandQueensFinnishTitleCard.jpg|Finnish Title Card PaintPotsandQueensJapaneseTitleCard.png|Japanese title card OfftheRails23.png|Stock footage OfftheRails24.png|Stock footage DowntheMine65.png|Stock footage DowntheMine11.png|Stock footage DowntheMine40.png|Stock footage DowntheMine72.png|Stock footage ThomasandStepney67.png|Stock footage ThomasandStepney48.png|Stock footage PaintPotsandQueens.png PaintPotsandQueens1.png PaintPotsandQueens2.png|Gordon and Edward PaintPotsandQueens3.png|Gordon and the Queen PaintPotsandQueens4.png PaintPotsandQueens5.png PaintPotsandQueens6.png|Henry and Percy PaintPotsandQueens7.png PaintPotsandQueens8.png PaintPotsandQueens9.png|The painter PaintPotsandQueens10.png|The Queen speaks to Edward PaintPotsandQueens11.png PaintPotsandQueens12.png|Thomas, Gordon, and the Fat Controller PaintPotsandQueens13.png|Henry, Duck, Toby, Percy, James, and Thomas PaintPotsandQueens14.png|Toby and Percy PaintPotsandQueens15.png|Deleted scene PaintPotsandQueens16.png PaintPotsandQueens17.png PaintPotsandQueens18.png PaintPotsandQueens19.png|Percy and James PaintPotsandQueens20.png PaintPotsandQueens21.png|Edward PaintPotsandQueens22.png|Gordon PaintPotsandQueens23.png|James PaintPotsandQueens24.png|Henry PaintPotsandQueens25.png PaintPotsandQueens26.png PaintPotsandQueens27.png PaintPotsandQueens28.png PaintPotsandQueens29.png PaintPotsandQueens30.png PaintPotsandQueens31.png PaintPotsandQueens32.png|Henry and Donald PaintPotsandQueens33.png PaintPotsandQueens34.png PaintPotsandQueens35.png PaintPotsandQueens36.png PaintPotsandQueens37.png PaintPotsandQueens38.png PaintPotsandQueens39.png|Sir Topham meets the Queen PaintPotsandQueens40.png PaintPotsandQueens41.png PaintPotsandQueens42.png PaintPotsandQueens43.jpg PaintPotsandQueens44.png|Deleted scene PaintPotsandQueens45.png PaintPotsandQueens46.jpg PaintPotsandQueens47.jpg|A deleted scene of Gordon taking the Queen away PaintPotsandQueens48.png|Gordon's buffer is crooked PaintPotsandQueens49.jpg PaintPotsandQueens50.jpg PaintPotsandQueens51.jpg|Deleted scene PaintPotsandQueens53.png PaintPotsandQueens54.png PaintPotsandQueens55.png PaintPotsandQueens56.png PaintPotsandQueens57.png PaintPotsandQueens58.png PaintPotsandQueens59.png PaintPotsandQueens60.png PaintPotsandQueens61.png PaintPotsandQueens62.png PaintPotsandQueens63.png PaintPotsandQueens64.png PaintPotsandQueens65.png PaintPotsandQueens66.png PaintPotsandQueens67.png PaintPotsandQueens68.png PaintPotsandQueens69.png PaintPotsandQueens70.png PaintPotsandQueens71.png PaintPotsandQueens72.jpg PaintPotsandQueens73.png PaintPotsandQueens74.png PaintPotsandQueens75.png PaintPotsandQueens76.png PaintPotsandQueens77.png PaintPotsandQueens78.png PaintPotsandQueens79.png PaintPotsandQueens80.png PaintPotsandQueens81.png PaintPotsandQueens82.png PaintPotsandQueens83.png PaintPotsandQueens84.png PaintPotsandQueens85.jpg PaintPotsandQueens86.jpg PaintPotsandQueens87.png PaintPotsandQueensBehindtheScenes.jpg PaintPotsandQueensBehindtheScenes2.jpg Category:Season 4 episodes Category:Thomas and Friends episodes Category:1995 television episodes Category:Episodes Category:1990s television episodes Category:Films, TV Shows And Wildlife Wiki Category:Thomas, Percy And The Mail Train And Other Stories (1997, US) Category:Thomas, Percy And The Mail Train And Other Stories (August 19, 1997) Full Category:Toby's Discovery And Other Thomas Adventures (2004, US) Category:Toby's Discovery And Other Thomas Adventures (March 16, 2004) Full